


Shot in the dark

by ilre_nchild



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Art, College, Dorms, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Model Yuri, More than roomates, POV Third Person, Photographer Victor, Photography, Separation Anxiety, Shounen-ai, Student Victor, Student Yuuri, Suicide Attempt, highschool, student yuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-21 23:00:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9570692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilre_nchild/pseuds/ilre_nchild
Summary: High school senior Victor Nikiforov is a photographer with all but jaw-dropping photographic skill. His favorite model Yuri Plisetsky is nothing short of beautiful. And though Victor knows Yuri's best angles as a model, and the pictures look great, there just seems to be something missing.Upon ending a photoshoot with Yuri and going home, a photo opportunity strikes Victor with a thin, dark-haired, young boy standing atop a bridge railing. Though through his view finder, he looks upon something of a far more serious manner. Acting on instinct, he preserves a memory, a life, and a love.With this, he takes a chance even though it's a shot in the dark.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Long time no see! I pray that this will be a better part of my writing experience as I have found a prompt from a friend that I can actually work with. AMAZING!! Thank you friend, you know who you are! 0vo  
> (Trigger Warning)- Please tell someone you trust if you have any suicidal thoughts or tendancies

* * *

Victor stood with his feet staggered and brought the Nikon Coolpix L330 to his chest. The blonde model, shifted his position on the white backdrop, assuming a much more alluring pose than he had before. Victor seized the opportunity and raised the viewfinder to meet his left eye. He took the shot. Standing up straight, he thumbed through the camera’s files and found the new photo. Victor smiled as the shot looked nothing short of stunning. The blonde’s fingers laced through his fine hair, the soft muscles perfectly shaded on his back and his arms, and the profile of his vivid sea green eyes was indeed his best shot of the entire shoot so far. Though his admiration of the photo was short lived. A thin, small hand slipped between his face and the digital display and pulled his attention to the living motion picture.

“Yuri!” Victor smiled at the boy.

“Mmm? What?” Yuri’s once soft looking features had gone rigid.

“This looks fantastic! Amazing, even!” Victor turned the display and lowered it for Yuri to get a better look at the photo.

“It went blank.”

“Huh?!” Victor’s eyes widened in surprise as, indeed, the display had gone blank and was showing an image signifying a dead battery. “I’m sorry Yuri. It’s dead.”

Yuri smirked, “It’s your fault for purchasing a battery that can barely hold a charge.” To this Victor laughed.

“Oh, don’t worry! I’m sure I can just replace the battery and it will work just fine.” Victor hesitated on the last few words. He wasn’t sure that it was just his battery. After having the camera for so long, and using daily for almost four years, he wasn’t sure at all. He had just learned to make a picture truly worth a thousand words. Though, a camera’s life was short with repeated usage. In the back of his mind, he worried.

“Well…? Did you get the shot?” The blonde snapped impatiently at him.

“Yes, I’m positive I did.”

“Because, you promised to take a picture of me that will be in my application to the Arts Institute. You promised.”

Victor grinned, “I know, I know. It’s going on my application, too. You promised me that I could use it. Remember?”

“Yes, Yes! I remember!” Yuri fumed, “Now go home and fix that camera of yours. I only want the best photographer who can interoperate and learn my best angles. You just happen to be the one who can do that.”

“Haha! And I don’t even try!” Victor laughed.

“Hey!”

“Well, that concludes today’s shoot. I get back to you with the photo’s as soon as possible.”

“Wait, Victor-!” Yuri attempted to keep him longer, but Victor was already at the studio doors.

“Ciao!” Victor waved over his shoulder.

* * *

He stepped out into the cool spring evening air, inhaled and sneezed. His allergies were badly acting up due to all the pollen up in the air. He strode down the sidewalk towards his house and minded the other pedestrians. His application for the Institute wasn’t going to write itself, and the camera wasn’t going to fix itself. He sighed heavily as he rounded a corner and the setting sun nearly blinded him. If only he could come through on his promise to Yuri and upload the photo to his computer using the camera’s last legs of life. So much depended on that photo. It reflected both his and Yuri’s skill in photography and modeling. Another heavy sigh.

Cherry blossom petals floated through the air around him, and the sun ricocheted off the small lake flowing beneath the bridge he walked upon, orange and bright. Upon lifting his hand to shade his eyes, he saw what the sun had hidden from him. A boy, a little older than Yuri, stood facing the sun, standing atop the railing of the bridge. His jet-black hair, swept lightly around his face, glasses catching the sun, his skin-tight shirt and skinny jeans accented his body form perfectly. The outline of his body cut through the rays of the sun.

With an all too natural movement, Victor reached for his camera and found the boy in his viewfinder. It would have been a perfect photo, but was ruined by two things. The camera was dead as a doornail, and the boy standing on the railing leaned forward and if not stopped, would be in likeness with the camera. The realization of what was happening struck Victor. Without a second thought, he dashed across the street, narrowly avoiding being hit by speeding cars. The camera bounced on its strap, tugging at his neck. Victor reached the boy with no time to spare. He grabbed for one of the boy’s pale, outstretched hands and pulled it to his side of the railing. The boy’s body snapped back towards him. Victor reached around the boy’s falling body. With a heartbreaking crack, he caught the boy against his chest.

The tears streaming from the boy’s eyes trailed down his cheeks and neck down into the collar of his shirt. Victor knelt, still clutching the boy who was crying silently. His body shook violently with each passing sob, and Victor sat stock still, as he wasn’t entirely sure what to do. He had just saved a boy about to commit suicide and now noticed that he didn’t know where to go from there. So he tried the first thing that came to him.

“A-Are you okay?”

Huge mahogany eyes met his own. The boy opened his mouth to speak, but the only thing that came out was a strangled sob. That answered his question. Victor took out his phone and hurriedly typed a number into the emergency dial keypad. He pressed talk and after only two rings, the line was picked up.

"It better be about the photo or-"

"Yuri! I need you here. Right now!" A pause.

"...Where are you? And why?" Yuri sounded skeptical, "This better not be a joke."

Victor shook his head futilely, "It's not I promise. I need a ride to the hospital." He glanced down at the still shaking boy that he cradled in his free arm. Silent tears raced from his eyes.

"Where are you?" Yuri's tone was serious.

Victor could hear Yuri getting in his car and starting it as he gave him his location. Then Yuri hung up. Victor dropped his phone onto the cement and hugged the wrecked boy to his chest.

"You know, the heavens have enough stars. Don't be so anxious to go home." Victor muttered underneath his breath. Though it was mostly to himself, the boy seemed to stop shaking to take in those words.

"Well, I'm sorry but that's the only place where maybe I could call home." His voice began to crack, "And don't talk to me like you know me. Or like you have all the answers to my problems. I-I don't need sympathy from a stranger." And though his words were harsh, Victor kept him close and rocked him ever so slightly.

"..." He found that he couldn't speak to that. Only a few seconds after that, a black Honda stopped on their side of the road right up against the sidewalk. The driver unlocked the doors for Victor. Knowing who is was, Victor grabbed the boy, who was beginning to protest, opened the door to the back seat and jumped inside.

"W-Wait-!" The boy screamed. Victor ignored him and held him tight in the backseat.

"Go, Yuri." Victor said impatiently.

Yuri yanked his steering wheel and dove back into rush hour traffic.

"Wh-where are you taking me?!" The boy screamed to them both, panic stricken.

"...Did you just try to commit suicide?" Asked Yuri.

"Answer my question-!"

"Did you just try to commit suicide, yes or no?!" Yuri snapped.

"Yes, now let me go!!!" He thrashed in Victors arms and broke his bonds. He pulled himself to the door and desperately tried to get out but Victor had latched onto his arm. "I said let go!"

"Don't let go of him," Yuri ordered.

"Trying not to-" Victor answered and received a shoulder to his chin, "Dammit! Stop! I'm not going to hurt you!"

"Then answer my damn question!"

"To a hospital! You tried to kill yourself."

"Aaaaaughh!!" The boy shrieked, "you should've just let me die!" He was choking on sobs, "Let me die! Let me die! Let me die! Please, please don't take me! Let me die! Please! Please! Pleeease!" He screamed in repeated protest.

Victor's brows knit together in frustration. The boy pried at his arms over and over again, pleading for him to let go. He could see the internal desperation to get out with each wild thrash of his slender limbs. Could hear the pain embedded in each of his whimpers. However, Victor found that he was more transfixed by the boy's consistency and the feeling of him in his arms.

"Almost there," Yuri commented from the front, breaking his train of thought.

"Good," Victor was getting tired with the boy's persistence in trying to get away from him. He scrambled for the door twice, yelled at them to stop, yelled for them to kill him, and yelled for them to let him go. Victor faught against the miserable person who was clearly desperate to escape his death grip. But even so, he held him and endured the car ride. He could already see the bruised body that would greet him in his mirror later that evening.

Finally, Yuri rounded a corner and drove into a parking lot. He quickly found an empty space that was, unfortunately, not too close to the entrance.

Yuri cursed under his breath, "It's like everyone decided that today was the best day to take a trip to the E.R." He sit off the car engine, "Victor, you wait here, I'll be back with help. Keep him in the car."

"Thank you." He held his breath as Yuri slammed the door shut, turned on his heel and ran.

"I'm begging you." The raven-haired boy spoke softly for the first time in at least thirty minutes, "Please, if they find out, they're not going to let me do anything. They'll make sure I'm on some medication that'll make me fat, then they kick me out of the program. You can't do this. You can't! Please! Please! PLEASE!" His voice shook as he continued to cry. Then he stopped struggling. He turned his bloodshot brown eyes upon Victor's ice blue ones, "Please... I won't ask for anything else."

Victor returned his look, but with a strictness that made the boy visibly lose some hope. The large scratch on his face mixed blood with tears. The culprit being his glasses. They lay on the seat, frames bent with a cracked lens. Broken, just like him. Looking upon the boy with his teary eyes, messily strewn hair, and his surprisingly vacant expression made him realize that something wasn't right. In his heart of hearts, Victor knew that this boy would not try to commit suicide without good reason. He loosened his grip as the boy's ragged breathing slowed.

"...I'm not going to admit you..." Victor voiced after a long three seconds. The boy sighed in relief, "On two conditions. One being that you stay here while I chase after Yuri, and two that you promise not to try and kill yourself again."

The boy seemed as shocked at his offer as Victor was offering it. His eyes widened slightly and he nodded.

"Y-Yes. And I promise." His voice was weak but steady.

Victor let go of him completely and sat for a second to see if he would try and bolt. But the boy sat quietly, with his head hung and fiddling with his hands. He wasn't going anywhere, and Victor could take his word for it. Victor gave him a satisfactory nod as he closed the car door. Then set off in a dead sprint for the hospital entrance.

Yuri was fit, but he wasn't fast. Victor should be able to catch him, but would he be too late?

* * *

Victor's lungs hurt as he made his beeline through the isle of parked cars. His feet pounded the black top in furious attempt to stop Yuri from alerting the doctors and nurses of a suicide attempt. The sliding double doors were in view. And just beyond them was Yuri, running to the front desk.

The motion sensors to activate the sliding doors caught Victor just in time as he barreled through the lobby. To catch the schoolboy by the hood of his hoodie just before his opened his mouth to the attendant was sheer luck.

The two of them out of breath, had a winded conversation. Victor explained to Yuri his deal with the kid under his breath, and though Yuri was skeptical about it, he understood and simply said 'okay'. The mildly confused receptionist dismissed them without a second thought. As it seemed, she was too tired to deal with any indecisive patients.

When they returned to the car, the boy hadn't moved. He was just as Victor had left him.

Yuri hopped into the driver's seat and Victor resumed his position next to the (now) calm boy. His hair hid his face, so Victor left it at that.

On the ride back to Victor's house, the three people were completely silent. No one looked at eachother, they all just stared out a window at passing scenery or at the road. Only the small noises of the radio in Yuri's car could be heard. And upon their arrival at Victors house, the only words exchanged were small thanks between Victor and Yuri.

Though once Victor stepped over the threshold in his entry way, he split the silence. He turned upon the smaller, lanky boy who tread gingerly behind him.

"You're staying with me tonight, understand?" He didn't wait for an answer. It wasn't really a question. "And since you'll be staying with me, I'd like to know my guests' name and the reasons they tried to kill themselves. So fess up." The boy was flustered, but not scared. He dared to lift his eyes when he spoke. And goddamn, when he did...

"Katsuki, Yuuri; long story; and I'm sorry." He had a guilty look in his eyes. Victor raised an eyebrow.

"For what?"

"..." Yuuri shifted uneasily.

"Look, I understand it's been a rough day for you. It's fine. I'm just glad you're okay as of now... and by 'okay', I mean 'alive'," Victor said sympathetically.

"No, it's not- well that too, but..." He paused and looked at Victor, tears in his eyes once more, "I didn't realize I'd broken it."

"What? I don't-" He looked down at his chest and nearly cried himself.

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to comment where you think this story should go and critique as much as you please. I strive to be a better writer.


End file.
